Abstract
This paper examines an environmental weighting tool developed for site assessment of New York offshore wind development and discusses future applications of sensitivity weighting for site identification and assessment as part of the development of other renewable energy projects across different geographic locations. As part of New York State's Offshore Wind Master Plan, Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E & E), with direction from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), developed a weighted sensitivity model to evaluate the relative risk of developing offshore wind infrastructure. This relative risk assessment compared the potential impacts, or "stressors," to selected biological marine resources, or "receptors," from activities that may occur during the pre-construction, construction, and post-construction phases of offshore wind energy development off the coast of New York.